[[quoteright:190:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/true_crime_la_9395.jpg]]A wide-open sandbox game where you play a Chinese-American cop in L.A., in the vein of irreverent action-comedies such as ''Beverly Hills Cop.'' It is noted for several things: Being immeasurably better than ''DeadToRights'' at the whole "Mix gunplay with martial arts" genre-blending thing, being really funny, and allowing the plot to progress even if you fail every single mission (though failure does prompt many different branchings and will affect how good an ending you reach).

Also notable for the fact that it pulls yet another sudden GenreShift during the latter part of the Good ending, where Nick Kang descends underneath the city and starts fighting zombies and dragons, in a homage to ''Film/BigTroubleInLittleChina''.

It was followed by a sequel, ''[[TrueCrimeNewYorkCity True Crime: New York City]],'' which was not nearly as well-received by critics or fans. A third game, ''True Crime: Hong Kong'', was in production before being cancelled in 2011; though it did eventually see release under publisher SquareEnix, it was no longer a ''True Crime'' game as Square-Enix did not own the license, and so it was released under the title ''VideoGame/SleepingDogs'' in August 2012.----!!This game provides examples of:

* ArrogantKungFuGuy: Nick Kang. If you press the draw weapon button while he's in a level restricted to fist fighting, he will push his hands into his coat as if to draw them, then shake his head and make some comment about how it would be too easy, before going right back to the fisticuffs.* AttackAttackAttack: It's extremely rare to find criminals who will give up when you flash your badge. Almost all criminals will attack you or run away when confronted. Several offenders of minor crimes will go through extreme amounts to get away from Nick. The worst example would be common muggers stealing cars and taking off to the other side of Los Angeles when confronted. Also those in street fights will forget about whatever it was they were fighting about and focus their aggressions on you.* BackSeatsAreJustForShow* BittersweetEnding: The Bad and Neutral Endings. The Bad Ending has Nick defeating General Kim, however Kim plummets to his death and many pieces of the puzzle are still missing. The Neutral Ending has Nick subduing Rocky, however [[spoiler: Carey dies in this path]], and the secret of what happened to Nick's father dies with Rocky as Rosie shoots him to save Nick. George monologues on how nothing is perfect, and encourages the player to try again.* BulletTime: Using precision aiming slows down time and allows you to see bullets in flight.* TheCameo: There was a way to play the game as SnoopDogg, complete with unique voice acting by the Dogg himself, and his [[InkSuitActor likeness]].* CarSkiing: One of several possible vehicular stunts.* CowboyCop: Nick, which is actually why he was recruited for the Elite Operations Division: they want cops who aren't afraid to bend the rules.* CoolShades: Nick sports these when he wears his undercover outfit.* DeadpanSnarker: Nick snarks at ''everything.''* GunsAkimbo: Nick's modus operandi when working with firearms. He can even fire two shotguns or assault rifles in each hand and fight on just fine.* HonorBeforeReason: If you try to pull out Nick's guns during a designated fist-fight, Nick will reach for them, but then stop and say something like "Nah, let's do this honorably!" or "Must...resist...the dark side!" or "I'd rather just beat the crap out of you."* KarmaMeter: Perform non-lethal takedowns (like shooting a guy in the arm) gets you Good points, while shooting them in the head is Bad[[note]]Unless they're packing heat and shoot at you first[[/note]].** Those are just the easiest ways to affect the karma meter. Reckless driving is Bad, lethal takedowns are bad, property damage is bad, stealing is bad, and in some cases, causing car accidents is bad (but if you find someone that wasn't wearing their seatbelt after a crash, it's a wash). Stopping random crimes is good, and frisking people without cause and finding something illegal is good (What Fourth Amendment?).** In the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube version, neither points nor the KarmaMeter is affected regarding property damage. When driving, no tree, parking meter, or traffic light should stand in your way.* LaughingAtYourOwnJokes:-->'''Nick''': Got here in the nick of time. Ha! I crack myself up.* TheMafiya: They appear to be the BigBad of the game. [[NorthKoreansWithNodongs The truth is a bit more complicated than that]].* MultipleEndings: There are about six endings in total. Two for each path you can take (Good Cop, Neutral Cop, and Bad Cop). If Nick dies in any of these paths on the final level, it's a DownerEnding. If you survive in the Bad and Neutral paths, it's only a BittersweetEnding. The GoldenEnding is completing the last mission for the Good path.* OrAreYouJustHappyToSeeMe: Subverted during a scene at the strip club:-->'''Stripper: Is that a gun in your pants?'''-->'''Nick: No, I'm just happy to see you.'''* OrgasmicCombat: PlayedForLaughs in a LiteralMinded sense. During a couple of the fist-fight levels, Nick will end up fighting women in S+M outfits. If he successfully uses one of his special moves on one of them, she has an ImmodestOrgasm as she flies backwards.* OnlyAFleshWound: A possible option for the player is to perform non-lethal takedowns.* PopTheTires: This is a gameplay mechanic.* PrecisionFStrike: Demonstrated not by the game but by the protagonist, Nick Kang. For an M-rated game, Nick just says the F-word as much as anyone in a PG-13 movie. He says, "Stay the fuck down!" to a criminal in fighting mode during a sandbox stage among his one-liners. But you can still hear the F-word more frequently in the rest of the game, from the songs in the soundtrack to some of L.A.'s citizens to Snoop Dogg.* RevolversAreJustBetter: Averted, Nick starts out with some unspectacular .38's, before you upgrade them for something better. Concluding with a pair of [[{{HandCannon}} Desert Eagles]].* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: In the average ending [[spoiler:Nick's brother Cary is killed,]] causing him to go on a one-man hunt to finish off Rocky and his conspirators.* RingOfFire: You fight the true final boss hand-to-hand in a ring of fire in the wreckage of a crashed jet.* SophisticatedAsHell: Ancient Wu. Rattles off proverbs and cryptic hoohaa like any good old master...then Nick doesn't get them. Which leads to lines like:-->'''Ancient Wu''': Where the metal birds flock near the ocean, you will find revenge...-->'''Nick Kang''': What was that? Ancient Wu?-->'''Ancient Wu''': The sixth edifice, at the landing place of the flying machines...-->'''Nick Kang''': Wait, wait, I'm sorry, I don't quite follow.-->'''Ancient Wu''': Santa Monica Airport, Hangar 6, asshole!* StarterVillain: The [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs local Triad]] serves as this before moving to the Russian Mafiya. * StealthBasedMission: The least common of the mission types has Nick sneaking very quietly through a short level. You can perform non-lethal takedowns, lethal {{Neck Snap}}s (for Bad points) and have an emergency dart gun with only three shots.* SwordAndGun: Well, ''fist'' and gun, anyway. Nick is able to shoot or beat the crap out of anyone and can switch to either whenever he wants. Most story missions are designated as either shooting or fighting missions, though; the adaptability mostly just comes into play when you're cruising the streets.* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Nick and Rosie didn't get along with with each other. Rosie thinking Nick is a sociopath while Nick prefers to [[IWorkAlone fly solo.]]* ThrowawayGuns: Any firearm that Nick picks up will be tossed aside once the ammo runs dry. Averted with his pistols as he still reloads them.* TrueFinalBoss: Interestingly, the true final boss is the same as the Bad Ending boss; the difference is that there, you had no idea what he was really up to or what he was trying to accomplish, whereas he [[JustBetweenYouAndMe spells it all out for you]] in the Good ending. There, you've successfully eliminated all the conspirators that he was also gunning for.--> '''General Kim''': All I had to to was to follow you. Now my mission is nearly complete.--> '''Nick Kang''': Nearly? Is there anyone left?--> '''General Kim''': ''[[PreAssKickingOneLiner Just you, Kang.]]''** Also, while General Kim is rather easy in the bad ending, he's [[ThatOneBoss an out and out ''nightmare'']] in the Good one.* WretchedHive: The in-universe Los Angeles. You can stand at an intersection and see five muggings or street fights one after another. George gives us his two cents in the intro movie in that regard.--> '''George''': They call it "The City of Angels". Funny. In my thirty years here, I haven't seen a single one.----